Month: June 2013

Over the weekend, PowerWeek.com switched from Freemium pricing to a Free Trial model. The change was motivated by 3 factors.

We looked at our user base and saw that lots of people signup and then never return. So we were emailing them every day for the rest of their lives? Not good.

Most of our user community is trying to make a change in their work habits. They want to get more done. If PowerWeek is free, then we reduce the commitment and initiative to really try our dogma.

Our users are business people who can benefit economically from adopting PowerWeek and promoting that others in their downline do the same. By leading with a “free” promise, it becomes hard to see the product as something you pay to leverage.

Freemium is great for advertising driving websites. We are the opposite. Our users unanimously told us to NOT start using advertising to pay for the operation.

The experiment has begun. We had an 8% conversion rate from Freemium (which is killer, we know), but we think we can do even better! To read more about our user-driven decision, check out our press release.

I’ve been relying on Skype as my primary phone at my Wayland MA office for the last 2 years. It has been really good in general. Then again, I’ve got super big pipes from Verizon FiOS (70mbs down/35mbs up).

Recently, I’ve had clients who prefer to use Google Hangouts. On my Mac, it seems harder to get everyone assembled using the Hangout UX. Also, the audio degrades for me after about 30 minutes. If I disconnect and reconnect, then I’m fine again.

I just took the plunge and purchased a Jawbone UP for my 49th birthday. The idea is the little bracelet keeps track of how active you are (or aren’t) and reminds you to get more exercise. I was waiting for the Fitbit Flex to be released first, but now they are sold-out everywhere and have an 8 week waiting list. I was able to get an UP at BestBuy right next to Wayland, MA.

It just buzzed at me to indicate I’ve been stationary in my chair for 45 minutes. I’ve got to get up now and move around. I’ll be experimenting with the app and device the next few weeks and will report back how it feels.